Getting Through Thanksgiving
I can now cross another “first without mom” off the list. Thanksgiving. Mom really liked having dinner over turkey, making her pecan dressing and talking about all that had happened in the past year, reasons to give thanks.
Two evenings prior we did a huge Thanksgiving feast at work for our residents and family members. 150 people fed all the fixings of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. The smiles and laughs made it a perfect night, not to mention the excellent food. All of us came away feeling great for having helped our families and residents have a little slice of ‘normal’ in their journey through the confusing world of dementia.
My kids always do the in-laws for Thanksgiving, or their dads. Until now they usually stopped over for dessert but this year mom is gone and it was just me and my sister. She made turkey and fixings and we shed a few tears, enjoyed the food, watched some TV (caught up on This Is Us), and I went to bed early.
I’ve been picking up a lot of hours at work so I can handle the holidays financially. And honestly I’m burned out I think. I’ve also had a lot on my mind about the future. My landscape is about to undergo some big changes and I’m working through a few things associated with that. Not ready to discuss it here but it is a big deal.
I’m fighting some cold/flu bug. Runny nose, cough, lower back aches like crazy, feel pretty much like a sloth. A sloth run over by a truck. Road kill sloth. I’m surviving on Alka Seltzer cold meds, which I have very few left and need to go to the store. But first I need to finish laundry because I had no clean clothes. And I need to go to work, so I need to leave by 2:30pm. I’m a mess more or less. Nothing I can’t handle!
So today I’m just thankful for change, as it brings about new adventures. And medications that help us get back up on our feet when illness knocks us down.
Marti Gardner 